‘Families don’t have to look the same’ – Black couple talks about their experience adopting three white children

Sadie and Jarvis Sampson tried for years to have a baby, using every method they could think of. They eventually accepted that they might only ever be an aunt and uncle. Then, one day, they got a text that changed their lives completely.

The couple had been trying to get pregnant since they got married in January 2018, but when it didn’t happen on its own, they tried everything else.

“We used ovulation tests, took prenatal vitamins, tracked cycles with apps, and used fertility monitors,” the Houston mom told Love What Matters.

“We even tried advice from friends, family, and strangers. For 14 months, we tried, prayed, and waited. Month after month, it was always a negative pregnancy test. It seemed like we might need help to conceive, so we even talked to doctors about it.”

Doctors didn’t offer much help to the couple. They mostly told Sadie to lose weight to improve her chances of getting pregnant. With no other advice, she had gastric surgery and lost 28 pounds.

Sadie’s OBGYN was excited about the weight loss and praised her for it.

“She told me that if I wasn’t pregnant within six months, she would refer me to a fertility specialist because she couldn’t prescribe fertility medication herself,” Sadie said. “I was thrilled! We finally got a positive step forward, even if it wasn’t immediate. We were excited about the progress.”

Unfortunately, the couple didn’t get pregnant after Sadie lost the weight, and they felt like they were back where they started.

“I always felt like I was meant to be a mother,” Sadie said. “Even though my surgeon warned me that I’d be very fertile after the surgery, I still wasn’t getting pregnant. So, we gave up and accepted that we might just be aunt and uncle to our nieces and godparents to our goddaughters.”

Just when the couple had decided to stop trying to have a baby, Sadie got a text from a friend asking if they would think about fostering a baby from a couple she knew.

At first, the couple was hesitant because they were told by a caseworker to take care of the baby while the birth mom was getting treatment. They worried they might get too attached. But then, the situation changed.

“The birth mom has decided she wants you to adopt the baby instead,” the caseworker said.

Sadie remembered saying, “‘Holy crap!!’ out loud when she found out she was going to be a mom.

“We went from having no kids to possibly fostering one, to suddenly being told, ‘You’re going to be parents!’ I was still in shock as I listened to the caseworker. I hung up and called my husband, shouting, ‘Babe!! They want us to adopt the baby! We’re going to be parents!’ He said, ‘Wait! REALLY?! I thought they just wanted us to foster him!’ I told him, ‘Nope! They want us to be his mom and dad.’”

The couple spent the weekend trying to take in the shocking news and getting ready, just in case the birth mom changed her mind.

By Monday, they were not only told that the birth mom still wanted them to adopt the baby, but she also wanted to do an independent adoption and was ready to sign the papers that day.

Their baby boy was born at just 33 weeks, which is seven weeks early. He weighed 4 lbs. 5 oz. “He was so tiny, he literally fit in one of my husband’s hands,” Sadie wrote.

“He was wrapped in a white blanket with pink and blue stripes,” Sadie said. “He had a small tube coming out of his nose because he couldn’t eat on his own since he was born early. But he was so cute!!!”

The couple shared their news on social media and were encouraged to create a registry. They listed 72 items, and within just three days, 55 of them were already bought for them.

Ezra Lee’s adoption was finalized in October 2020, and the couple had adorable family photos taken, all wearing t-shirts that said, “Families don’t have to match.”

In 2021, Sadie and Jarvis became parents to twin girls, Journee and Destinee, through embryo donation. True to their family motto, “Families don’t have to match,” the Black couple now has three white children – a boy and two girls.

For anyone who might judge their beautiful family, they have just one response: their family is built on the strongest foundation ever – love.

Bobby Sherman Quit Music at the Height of His Career – His Shocking Reason Revealed

Bobby Sherman was one of the biggest music stars during the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, it seemed like everyone had a crush on him.

He released several albums, became a well-known actor, performed for thousands of fans, and sold millions of records. But even with all his success, Sherman made the surprising decision to leave show business for good while he was still famous.

It wasn’t because he felt like he wasn’t talented anymore. Instead, he left for a bigger purpose—he wanted to save lives.

Here’s everything you need to know about the legendary Bobby Sherman!

Bobby Sherman was born on July 22, 1943, in Santa Monica, California, and grew up in Van Nuys, near Los Angeles.

**Bobby Sherman – Early Life**
By the time he was 11, Sherman had learned to play the trumpet and later mastered other instruments like the piano, trombone, and guitar. He attended Birmingham High School, where he joined a band and developed a strong interest in singing. Over the years, Sherman reportedly learned to play an impressive 16 instruments.

After graduating high school in 1961, he began studying at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, near Los Angeles. It was during this time that a relationship changed his life forever.

Sherman was studying child psychology at Pierce College when he met his first girlfriend. One night, she invited him to a cast party for *The Greatest Story Ever Told*.

By then, Sherman had already started performing music with different bands around the San Fernando Valley, and many people recognized his talent. At the party, Sherman didn’t hesitate to showcase his voice.

“I was always the guy who had the gumption to get up and sing in front of people,” he later said.

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At the Hollywood party, Bobby Sherman had some friends playing in the band on stage, which made it easier for him to get up and sing. He performed Ray Charles’ “What I’d Say” in front of the crowd.

**Discovered at a Hollywood Party**
Since it was a Hollywood party, many famous people from the entertainment industry were there, including stars like Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, and Jane Fonda.

After his performance, they recognized his talent. Sal Mineo, especially, took notice and decided to mentor him.

“People were saying things like, ‘Who’s handling you?’ I had no idea what that meant,” Sherman recalled.

“Well, I was just a kid from Van Nuys, and I was like, ‘What do they mean, handling me?’ Then I realized they were talking about representation.”

Sherman quickly got a taste of Hollywood life. Just three days later, an agent—who had heard about him from one of the party guests—sent him to an audition. It was for a new television show called *Shindig*, and Bobby landed a featured role.

His time on *Shindig* lasted only two years, but that was enough to get him noticed. By then, people across the country had fallen in love with him, and job offers started pouring in.

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When *Shindig* was canceled in 1966, Bobby Sherman guest-starred on several other shows, including *The Monkees*, *Honey West*, and *The FBI*. He was starting to become a heartthrob in Hollywood, but it was in 1968 that he really made it big.

**Bobby Sherman – Music, Songs, Albums, Acting**
Sherman played the stuttering character Jason Bolt in *Here Come The Brides*, staying on the show for two full years. By the end of his time on the show, his character had lost his stutter, but the show was eventually canceled.

Jason Bolt became very popular with fans, and Sherman realized this during a telethon in Buffalo. Suddenly, he wasn’t just a rising star; he had become famous.

“The show had just started, and we didn’t even have any records out yet,” Sherman told *Tulsa World*.

“Greg Morris from *Mission: Impossible* and Robert Brown from *Here Come The Brides* and I were asked to do the telethon. It was going really well when the fire marshal came in and said, ‘We have a problem. You need to come up to the second floor; you have to greet some people.’

“They opened up a window, and I looked out to see the parking lot of the TV station filled with people. It was a sea of faces,” he recalled. “It was just unbelievable. That was when I realized something big was happening.”

The following year was a bit of a “limbo” for Bobby. However, it was during this time that he began focusing on writing songs and experimenting with his eight-track recording equipment.

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Bobby Sherman became a professional singer, even though he hadn’t received much recognition for his voice yet.

**Bobby Sherman – Family, Wife, Children**
From 1969 to 1971, Sherman’s young fans bought millions of his recordings. He released popular singles like “Little Woman,” “Easy Come, Easy Go,” and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me.” He sold over a million copies of six different singles and four different albums.

“A song begins with an idea – one line,” he explained in 1971. “I build that into a complete lyric. Then, I fit the music around it.”

Sherman starred in a television series called *Getting Together*, a spinoff of *The Partridge Family*, about two songwriters, from 1970 to 1971. He also appeared in several guest roles after that.

At the same time as his rise to fame, he married his first wife, Patti Carnel, in 1971. Together, they had two sons, Christopher and Tyler.

Sherman wanted his kids to have a great place to grow up, so he decided to build a miniature model of Disneyland’s Main Street in his backyard. The project cost him about $15,000 and took around two and a half years to complete.

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Not everyone was happy with Bobby Sherman’s Disneyland project; his wife was reportedly annoyed by the constant noise of hammers.

**”I Didn’t Know What Home Was”**
“At one point, she said, ‘If you don’t finish it, I’ll kill you,’” Sherman joked in an interview with *People*.

Bobby’s children not only inspired him to build his own piece of Disneyland but also became the motivation for his new career. He became a major teen heartthrob before stars like Shaun Cassidy and David Cassidy. Eventually, he was “replaced” by performers like Donny Osmond.

At the height of his career, Sherman starred in hit television series while also releasing popular singles, gaining adoration from millions of fans. His albums *Sixteen* and *Tiger Beat* became two of his most cherished works.

Even though he was living out his dream, Sherman explained that he often filmed five days a week and had evening shows on weekends. This busy schedule took a toll on him. “It was so hectic for three years that I didn’t know what home was,” he told the *Washington Post*.

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“I was disoriented; I never knew where I was. I always had to be reminded. But, in all honesty, I must say I had the best of times because the concerts were great, and the fans were great. It was the proverbial love-in, but it just zapped so much out of me.”

**Bobby Sherman Left Music to Save Lives**
Then, in the middle of his celebrity status, Bobby suddenly decided to switch careers to a very important one. He chose to leave his music and television career to save lives.

Sherman was very involved in raising his children, and his then-wife Patti was afraid of blood. As anyone who has raised kids knows, accidents happen often, and Christopher and Tyler would sometimes fall and get hurt.

These falls sometimes caused bloody knees and other minor scrapes. Wanting to handle these situations better, Sherman decided to take some classes. He first took an introductory first aid and CPR class and later volunteered as an emergency medical technician.

“The very first call, I saved a little 5-year-old girl’s life. I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s the most incredible feeling,’” Bobby recalled in a 1994 interview.

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